Credit: Sebastião Vasconcelos
Professor Dr. Marina Pignatelli coordinated the colloquium “Research and Lived Experiences in Portugal During the Holocaust,” organized in partnership with the Polish Embassy. The event took place on February 9 at the Independence Palace and brought together academics, diplomats, community leaders, and descendants of survivors to reflect on Jewish life and the paths of salvation found in Portugal during the Shoah.
In his speech, the Israeli Ambassador to Portugal, Oren Rozenblat, evoked a principle of Judaism according to which good comes into the world through the righteous. He emphasized that the fact that Portugal was chosen to save thousands of Jews during the Holocaust is a sign that the country deserved this historical responsibility, expressing his gratitude to Portugal and to the Portuguese people.
Credit: Israel em Portugal
Among the speakers were diplomat Manuela Franco, journalist Miriam Assor and Professor Carolina Henriques Pereira. The colloquium also featured powerful testimonies from children and grandchildren of refugees and survivors of the Shoah: Ronaldo Brodheim, Anita Rosenthal Ayash Ayash, Joana Liebermann, and Sofia Kahn, who shared family memories of flight, refuge, and survival.
One of the central moments of the event was the presentation of the certificate to Professor Dr. Marina Pignatelli, appointing her Honorary Consul of the Auschwitz Memorial in Portugal. The distinction was presented by Maria Ossolińska, Head of the Memory Diplomacy Department of the Museum, and by its Director, Dr. Piotr Cywiński. The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Poland to Portugal, Dorota Barys.
The opening session was conducted by the President of the Independence Palace and was marked by strong attendance. Present were leaders of the Jewish Community of Porto, Dr. David Garret and Dr. Michael Rothwell, as well as the President of the Jewish Community of Lisbon, David Botelho, and Vice-President Ester Bekerman Carneiro. António Moncada Sousa Mendes, grandson of Aristides de Sousa Mendes — a key figure in the rescue of thousands of Jews during World War II — was also in attendance.
